Frankenweenie is also about mortality, but at a very different stage. It's losing a parent versus losing a dog. I don't run away from the tears of that, which I think is what makes it feel universal.

The producers and I first talked about the Big Fish musical, right before we did the first test screening of the movie. I said, I think there's a Broadway musical here. And really, from that day, we started figuring out how we would do it.

With Corpse Bride, I saw a lot more of it during the process because we were changing things a lot. When I came onto Corpse Bride, it wasn't a musical.

I just always remember myself as the teenager with questions about movies and screenwriting. I would hope that there was somebody out there who would answer those questions, and so, if I can take a few minutes to do it, I will. It's not threatening for us. We're not being stalked, so it's easier.

Keeping the cat front-and-center was definitely a smart choice, from Tim and the animation department. Mr. Whiskers got referred to more than we actually saw him on stage. Seeing him on screen, you just love him.

I knew that this was the movie in which a lot of the cinema version of Burton-esque first started. So, I knew that there were things that were hugely important to him for it, but it didn't really feel that different than working on any other of these projects.